Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: The Ballad of Fallen Angels ❯ Final Preparations And Good-byes ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Chapter 4: “Final Preparations And Good-byes”
Saetoushei and Tael left the castle walls as soon as the drawbridge was lowered the next morning. They had spent the night in the local inn, Tael had loved sleeping on the soft sheets. Yet Saetoushei had never gone to bed; he stared outside at the darkened sky for a long time, not saying anything until he finally fell asleep in his chair.
Saetoushei slowed for nothing on the way to the forest, not that there was really anything to stop for. Saetoushei almost felt a wanting to break around noon when the pair passed by the entrance to Lon Lon Ranch. It had been a long time since he had been Malon, the girl who ran the ranch. He had heard from travelers that her father had passed away about a year ago and that Ingo had left to find new work before that. `She must be lonely up there all by herself', Saetoushei thought to himself. But he didn't stop. He never stopped for things like that anymore.
The cool air that greeted them at the mouth of the forest was a blessed change from the hot sun that had been beating down on them all day. Saetoushei fidgeted as they traveled deeper into the woods; long-forgotten memories returning unabridged to his weary mind. He had been raised here and at one point, he thought he would die here.
But that was not to be.
The village of the Kokiri spread out in front of them as they traversed the last leg of the journey to the settlement. No one really knew which race had resided in Hyrule first, especially since all the races: the Hylians, Kokiri, Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudos, all claimed to be the land's true masters. In the end it didn't really matter, since each race controlled it's own kingdom.
Saetoushei stooped low as he entered the Deku Nut Shop. The little place held a much more varied selection now than it had in his younger years: potions and bottles filled with fairies lined the shelves on one side, arrows and Deku Seeds used for slingstones covered another. The shop's owner, old Makro, had passed away in Saetoushei's absence and he didn't recognize the new owner.
“What can I do you for, mister?” the Kokiri behind the counter asked.
“A set of arrows, fifty of them.” Saetoushei replied coolly. “A red potion, a green, a dozen Deku Nuts, and a dozen bombs.”
The Kokiri hustled around, grabbing Saetoushei's purchases and placing them on the counter. “We don't gots da bombs, mister. I can do ya for everything else, tho.”
“Good enough,” Saetoushei said. “How much?”
“331, mac.”
“331 Rupees?” Saetoushei exclaimed. “Since when are the prices so high?”
The Kokiri shrugged. “Eh, I don't make da prices, mac, I just sell `em for dat much.”
Saetoushei reached into his wallet and slapped the gems down on the counter. He grabbed his purchases and stalked out.
Saetoushei trudged through the Lost Woods later that night. He was alone, telling Tael to stay behind with some old friends. The Serana Twins gladly agreed to put the little fairy up for the night.
He was finally alone again, just the way Saetoushei like it.
Saetoushei parted some ferns in his path and stepped forward into a large clearing. Beautiful flowers decorated the walls and the ground, leading up to an opening in the trees. He quickly navigated the hedge maze, old instincts popping up, telling him exactly where to go and how to get there.
Saetoushei slowly walked through the entrance to the temple. He had told Tael that they would leave for Termina on the `morrow, and he intended to keep that promise. But there was someone he had to say good-bye to first.
He descended in the old elevator, dropping to the basement level of the temple. When the elevator stopped, he got off quickly and walked to the golden door in front of him. Pressing against the pressure release, the door whooshed up into the ceiling. Saetoushei stepped inside.
It had been seven years since he had stepped into this room. The last time he was here, he'd had a different name and a different purpose. The last time he was here, he had been locked in a battle to the death with Ganondorf's phantom self. He had bested Phantom Ganon and slew him, forcing Ganondorf to recall the failed demon to the netherworld. Now, Saetoushei sat quietly and waited for the phantom that he wanted to see.
It started off as a little glowing green ball that suddenly appeared in the center of the room. It quickly became larger and brighter until it exploded, throwing blinding light everywhere. Saetoushei closed his eyes against the glow until it resided. He opened his eyes.
A young girl stood in the middle of the room. She was three years Saetoushei's senior, yet she only came up to about his stomach. Her unseeing, pupil-less blue eyes, blinded in the fight to defeat Ganon, sparkled like Lake Hylia in the moonlight. The green boots and tunic she wore, along with the expression on her face, gave the impression of total, uninterrupted innocence. Yet only Saetoushei knew that wasn't true.
He stood and bowed. “Sage of the Forest Temple, thank you for coming to me.”
The girl's voice shook slightly. “Link? Link is that really you?”
Saetoushei's lips curled upwards to make his first smile in years. “Hello Saria.”
He took a step towards her, only to find that she would take a step back. “Saria?”
“Stay back, please.” the Sage pleaded. “There is a darkness around you. You look like Link, sound and talk like him even, yet you cannot be him.”
Saetoushei dropped his head. “Link has passed on. I, Saetoushei, have succeeded him.”
“Why are you here?”
Saetoushei choked back a sob. “Link…Link…says hello.”
Saria cocked her head to one side, as if examining him. “I thought you said he died. Why isn't he here? Why are you here?”
“Because Link is in another world, fighting a great battle. I am on my way to help him; to fight along side him.”
“Then you are a friend.”
“Yes.”
Instantly her face brightened. She clapped her hands together and laughed. “Oh good! That's wonderful! I thought I would have known if he was truly gone.”
Saetoushei could not take this anymore. “I must go now, to his side. If I do not, he might not live.”
He turned and raced down the steps and out of the room, tears Saria could never see coursing down his face. Still looking towards the wall where he had been standing, Saria called to him as she disappeared, “Tell Link to come visit me when you return!”
Tael was at the moment not under as much emotional stress, but wasn't enjoying himself anyway. The Serana Twins' fairy's, Rascona and Replita, chased him around the roof of the hut in what Tael estimated was their three hundredth circuit. Tael's pleas to the twins had resulted in nothing but girlish giggles and laughter.
He desperately awaited the morning.
Tael didn't need to wait that long. He was awakened in the middle of the night by Saetoushei. The Hylian had crept into the house and grabbed him from where he lay on the floor, exhausted by the flight from the girls. They had eventually caught him and proceeded to “play dress up”, the horrors of which he might never forget if he lived to be a thousand (which he might do; fairies have incredible longevity).
Together, Saetoushei and Tael left Kokiri Forest and entered the Lost Woods. Saetoushei navigated the winding paths and hidden entrances easily, as if something was drawing him along the correct route. And before he knew it, they were there.
A dozen or so tree stumps were lined up in a row, each one shorter than the next. The pair nimbly leapt from stump to stump, reaching the doorway-shaped hole in the side of the large tree that the stumps led to. Saetoushei entered the tree and strode to the edge of the cliff inside the tree. He looked down into the seemingly unending darkness, took a deep breath, and stepped off the ledge.
He fell and fell. The rush of air ripped at him and his skin. The further he fell, the stranger things got. Odd multicolored shapes rushed up at him, flying through him and shooting up towards the top of the hole. Saetoushei thought that he had made a mistake, that the fall would never, until-
SLAM!
Saetoushei landed flat out on a giant flower. The impact knocked the breath out of him for awhile. When he was finally able to stand, Saetoushei looked around. It was the right place. The large cavern that he had fallen into was the same as it had appeared seven years ago.
Tael swooped down beside him. “Are you all right?”
Saetoushei shook his head to clear it. “Yeah, yes, I'm fine. I'll be alright.”
They proceeded forwards. Down the next long tunnel, they came out to another large flower. A large gap divided the room, preventing them from reaching the next tunnel.
Tael sagged. “I know we forgot something. Now we can't cross. We can't get back to the surface either. We're trapped!”
Saetoushei shook his head. “Damn fool! I never forget.”
So said, he reached into his tunic and pulled out the mask that the Skull Kid had brought him. He took the Deku Mask in both hands and pressed his face into it.
Immediately his body shuddered. Blinding pain ripped through his body. He could feel his muscles rearranging themselves; could feel his bones cracking and breaking under the strain of the shape shifting. Saetoushei raised his head to the ceiling and screamed.
When it was over, Saetoushei lay curled up on the floor of the tunnel. He struggled to draw breath into his body and to calm his raging heart. He slowly picked himself up off the floor. He looked at his hands. They were much smaller than they had been, and they now looked like they were covered in wood.
“Wow, what was that?” Tael asked.
Saetoushei sighed. “You don't wanna know.”
Saetoushei stepped forward. He was no longer a young Hylian male.
Now he was a Deku.
Deku-toushei stepped onto the flower and peered down into the hole in it's center. “Hope I still can do this right.” he muttered to himself.
Deku-toushei concentrated his mind and pushed himself into the flower. He could feel the energy of the earth, of the plant, flowing through him. He concentrated again and was shot out of the flower into the air. Deku-toushei reached the top of his arc and hovered there. Two large flowers on green stems had grown out of his palms. They began spinning around like twin helicopter rotors. He grinned and flew to the other side of the room. Tael yelped in surprise and flew after him.
Tael waited for Deku-toushei to finish traversing the room. They had traveled down the next corridor into a large cavernous room. Tael had flown to the door at the opposite end and waited for Deku-toushei to burrow into another flower and fly to the door. He landed quickly and dropped flat to the ground, the rotor flowers disappearing into his hands again.
“Man, flower-flying sure does take it out of ya.” Deku-toushei muttered, gasping in air. He put his hands to his face and ripped it off. Instantly he reverted back to a panting Saetoushei, clutching the Deku Mask in his hands. He rested for a few minutes before replacing the mask in his tunic and standing in front of the door. He tested it, just to make sure. Good, it was still locked.
“You're sure nothing else besides you and Skull Kid came through?” Saetoushei asked Tael.
Tael replied, “Absolutely. We came in the middle of the night and locked both doors behind us.”
Saetoushei held the Key in his hand. It was a smallish thing; silver, with a red gemstone inserted on the holding end. He placed it into the lock and turned. The door swung open to reveal the portal itself: a seeming normal and straight corridor that led to another locked door. But as Saetoushei began walking down it, he seemed to grow heavier, his movements became slower, like something was holding him down, like he was walking through water.
“Oh man.” Tael whined while desperately fighting to stay airborne. “I hate this part!”
Saetoushei forced himself onwards, moving as if he was waist-deep in quicksand. Suddenly the floor began moving, he was stuck to it, he was walking on the wall. Now he was on the ceiling, struggling forwards, trying to reach the door. He was on the opposite wall, now back on the floor. Saetoushei struggled forward, he felt like his heart was about to explode-
-And then he was through, his motions no longer restricted, he lurched forward against the door. Saetoushei slid down to the ground, gasping for air, willing away the pounding headache that bashed against his brain. Tael dropped down onto his shoulder, totally spent.
The two stayed like that for longer than either could remember. It was at least half a dozen hours later that Tael stirred. He roused Saetoushei as best he could. The Hylian groggily got to his feet, swaying a little bit. He glared back at the opposite end of the tunnel.
“Damn, the first portal door is still open.” Saetoushei muttered. “Forget it, I'll just remember to lock this one behind me. I'm not going through that again.”
Saetoushei grasped the Key again and opened the door in front of them. Instead of swinging on hinges, these doors slid into the walls, revealing blessed damp coolness in front of them. The door slid back into place behind them. Saetoushei turned and locked it.
They were standing in a basement. Covered in damp moisture which hung in the air and green moss which clung to the stone walls, with a small river which ran to the Laundry Pond. The two ascended the wooden, winding stairwell in front of them to come out on a landing which led to one final pair of wooden swinging doors. Saetoushei glanced at Tael and pushed open the doors, stepping into the open air.
It was almost like he remembered it. The buildings were almost the same: high, with red-stone walls and colored paints. There were so many more people now than there had been the last time.
“I forgot.” Tael said. “It's that time of year again. The Carnival of Time is in three days.”
Saetoushei first groaned, then sighed. “Why do these things always seem to happen to me?”
They had arrived in Clock Town.
Saetoushei had returned to Termina.